The Estate of Elisa Serna v. County of San Diego

District Court, S.D. California·Decided February 15, 2023·No. 3:20-cv-02096·Unknown

Opinion

THE ESTATE OF ELISA SERNA by Case No.: 20-cv-2096-LAB-DDL and through its administrator DOUGLAS GILLILAND, et al, ORDER GRANTING IN PART Plaintiffs, SECOND AMENDED v. COMPLAINT [Dkt. 50, 52] COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, et al, Defendants.

Elisa Serna died on November 11, 2019, while in the custody of the County of San Diego at the Las Colinas Detention Facility. She had been in custody for five days. Plaintiffs allege she was denied medical care for withdrawal symptoms and dehydration. They brought this action claiming that the County of San Diego is liable for her death. The Plaintiffs are: Serna’s estate (the “Estate”); her widower, Brandon Honeycutt; her minor child, S.H., through her guardian ad litem, Paloma Serna; and her parents, Michael and Paloma Serna. Their Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) asserts eight claims against eleven named defendants and twenty-eight unnamed “Doe” defendants. Defendants County of San Diego, William Gore, Barbara Lee, Lorna Roque, Hazel Camama, and Lucas Lovisa (identified as “Lacee Lovisa” in the SAC) (collectively, “County Defendants”) have moved to dismiss portions of Plaintiffs’ SAC. (Dkt. 50). Defendants Danalee Pascua and Reishone Foster independently join portions of County Defendants’ motion. (Dkt. 51, 53). Foster also separately moves to dismiss all claims brought against her. (Dkt. 52). Defendants Coast Correctional Medical Group, Friederike Von Lintig, M.D., and Mark O’Brien, O.D. (collectively, “CCMG Defendants”) join portions of both motions. (Dkt. 62). Having considered the parties’ submissions and the relevant law, the motions are GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The Court DISMISSES the following claims: 1) The SAC’s first through eighth claims as against all Doe Defendants, WITHOUT PREDUDICE; 2) The SAC’s first, second, and sixth through eighth claims as against Lovisa and Foster, WITH PREJUDICE; and 3) The SAC’s second claim, insofar as it is brought by Honeycutt, WITH PREJUDICE, and insofar as it is brought under the First or Fifth Amendment, WITH PREJUDICE. The relevant factual allegations and the reasonable inferences that can be drawn in Plaintiffs’ favor are as follows. Las Colinas Detention Facility is a detention center owned and operated by the County of San Diego for female inmates in the County’s custody.1 (Dkt. 34, SAC ¶ 17). The County’s custodial employees and staff work under the supervision of Sheriff William Gore, and its medical and nursing staff work under Medical Administrator Barbara Lee. (Id. ¶¶ 11–13, 16–17). Prior to the events giving rise to this action, multiple local

1 The SAC doesn’t allege this fact, alleging instead that the County owns and operates Las Colinas Jail. (SAC ¶ 17). For the purposes of this Order only, the Court takes judicial notice that the County houses female inmates at Las Colinas newspapers published stories detailing the number of inmate deaths in the County’s jails, which Gore responded to in an op-ed published in September 2019. (Id. ¶¶ 114–21). In 2016, the County received a grand jury report noting that jail staff didn’t know how to record inmates’ medical conditions in the County’s information management software, (id. ¶¶ 131–33), and the Sheriff’s Department commissioned an audit of its compliance with the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare (“NCCHC”) Standards for Health Services in Jails, (id. ¶ 136). The NCCHC report noted that Las Colinas failed to meet twenty-eight “essential standards” necessary for NCCHC accreditation. (Id. ¶ 140). Elisa Serna was admitted to the County’s custody on November 6, 2019. (Id. ¶ 22). When she was booked, she reported she was addicted to heroin and alcohol and that she had used heroin, alcohol, and Xanax two hours earlier. (Id. ¶¶ 23, 25). She was also pregnant, suffering from acute pneumonia, and exhibiting signs of withdrawal and dehydration, including nausea, vomiting, and dry skin. (Id. ¶¶ 24–25, 30–31, 45). She wasn’t seen by a doctor or treated for withdrawal until her fourth day in Las Colinas. (Id. ¶¶ 38–39). Between 1:15 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on November 11, 2019, nurses Hazel Camama and Lorna Roque and Dr. Friederike Von Lintig observed Serna’s condition decline without providing medical care.2 (Id. ¶¶ 41–74). At some point during the interval, Deputy Reishone Foster dragged Serna to her cell by her wrists while Serna was nearly unconscious. (Id. ¶ 77). Foster didn’t summon medical care. (Id.) At approximately 7:00 p.m., nurse Danalee Pascua and Deputy Lucas Lovisa went to Serna’s cell and observed as she had a seizure, struck her 2 The Court declines to recite the specific allegations against Camama, Roque, and Dr. Von Lintig because none of those defendants move to dismiss the claims against them for inadequate pleading. A detailed account of the allegations against those defendants can be found in the Court’s Order partially dismissing head, and fell, unconscious, onto the floor of her cell. (Id. ¶ 78). They closed the door to Serna’s cell without providing medical care. (Id. ¶ 80). Serna was found dead in her cell more than an hour later. (Id. ¶¶ 80–82). Plaintiffs initiated this suit on October 26, 2020. (Dkt. 1). Serna’s widower, Brandon Honeycutt, and her minor child, S.H., filed suit on behalf of the Estate as Serna’s successors-in-interest. On November 11, 2021, a probate court issued Letters of Administration appointing Douglas Gilliland as administrator and personal representative of the Estate. (Dkt. 28-3). Plaintiffs filed the SAC on April 1, 2022, (see SAC), and moved to substitute Gilliland as administrator of the Estate on July 7, 2022, (Dkt. 57). The Court granted that unopposed motion. (Dkt. 68). Due to pending criminal charges against Pascua and Dr. Von Lintig, the Court stayed civil discovery from those defendants. (Dkt. 46, 78). A Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss tests the sufficiency of the complaint. Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir. 2001). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 547 (2007)). A claim is plausible if the factual allegations supporting it permit “the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. The factual allegations need not be detailed; instead, the plaintiff must plead sufficient facts that, if true, “raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 545. The plausibility standard is not a “‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). Courts aren’t required to accept legal conclusions couched as factual allegations and “formulaic recitation[s] of the elements of a cause of action” aren’t sufficient. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. Ultimately, a court must determine whether the plaintiff’s alleged facts, if proven, permit the court to grant the requested relief. See Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 666; Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). A. Standing County Defendants and Foster move to dismiss all claims brought by the Estate because Honeycutt and S.H. lack standing to sue on the Estate’s behalf. (Dkt. 50-1 at 3–4, 52-1 at 3–5). Pascua and CCMG Defendants join this argument. (Dkt. 51, 54). As Serna’s successors-in-interest, Honeycutt and S.H. originally had standing to sue on the Estate’s behalf under Cal. Civ. Pro. Code § 377.30. A state probate court has since appointed Douglas Gilliland as the administrator and personal representative of the Estate. (Dkt. 28 at 2). Under California l

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